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Archive for October, 2016

It’s been another good week for me. I didn’t have all my projects finished by Friday. But, I only had one left to get to. I did part of that yesterday as part of my weekly SOCS post. And I finished the rest of it this morning. So, I still managed to get through all my goals. Almost the end of the month, and I’ve met most of my goals for that as well(I think. Haven’t gone through to check all the boxes off, but I’m sure most of them will be. Usually I’d wait until the last day to make the next month’s list, but then I wouldn’t be able to figure out next week’s to-do list for this post. So, I wrote out my listens and reads for the next week. The others, I pretty much have figured out just haven’t written them down. I’ll probably have my monthly goal post up on Wednesday.

I mentioned in my post on Friday, that I changed my plan for NaNoWriMo. I was going to just work on Stay a Little Longer. But, I decided to split my time between all my projects instead. That will be 500 a day on each of the projects. It will end up giving me 55000 words for the month instead of only 50k. And I’m sure I’ll get well over 500 on some of them some days. But, that’s at least a minimum.

For now, here’s how things went for this week:

Write: 14000 words – 13176 words. Not quite my goal, but I did finish the first draft of Break on Me, so I’m counting this as finished

Break on Me – 8989 words – Lora came back to him and put a hand on his chest. His heart gave a few more hard leaps, but it started to slow. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. “My wildcat,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her palm. “Always leaping to my defense.”

In the Moonlight – 1061 words – She let out a short laugh and rested her head on top of mine. “Think you know me so well, don’t you?”I pressed her up against the wall and let my hand slide under the shirt. And found nothing but skin. “Yeah, I think I do.”

Defending the Heart – 1021 words – “I can handle it, Boss,” Xavier said and grinned, cocking out one hip. “I can handle anything you want to dish out.”
Alex and Declan both grinned. Piers wondered if he was the only one who noticed that grin didn’t quite match the look in his eyes. He hadn’t seen Xavier in over three years, but he still knew how to read him. And he knew Xavier turned on the flirt when you got too close to the heart of an issue with him. He didn’t want Alex to worry about him, so he turned it all into a joke.

Not Meant to Be(formerly referred to as Toby & Denise) – 1025 words – “Maybe you’re too busy looking at her and thinking you don’t measure up. Which is just stupid, Toby. You’re a better person than you give yourself credit for.” *even Toby’s 16-year-old brother can see it.

Crash and Burn(formerly referred to as Brann & Jaya) – 1080 words – Jaya felt something warm go through her at the words, even if they weren’t aimed at her. They weren’t grudging, in fact he sounded rather proud of how his sister was. That she could appreciate. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard that pride in her brothers’ voices when they spoke of her. They were too busy making sure no one came near her.

Plot: Stay a Little Longer – Finish Story Toolkit, start plot summary if I have time – All this is done. I just have to outline it in Scrivener now. I should be ready to start writing on Tuesday.

Side Projects – write 1500 words between them– 1756/1500 words. Most of this was on Thursday.

Dance with the Devil – 517 words – I’d tried to tell myself I’d left all that behind. But it was just another lie. I needed to be done lying to myself and everyone else. Especially Hawk.

Snow White Twist – 513 words – He met her eyes straight-on, something he’d never been able to do before. “You, Tarian. It always should have been you. I’m too weak, and Father’s too cruel.”

Patrick & Sarah – 144 words – Nothing, she told herself once again. There was nothing wrong with wanting to do right by her sons. She’d depended on a man once to see to that for her and them. And he had gone and died on them. She wasn’t sure she could bear that happened again. So, she’d find a way to do it on her own, no matter what the good people of this town thought of her for it.

Tavin & Haiwee- 169 words – Eydyami stepped between her and [xx] and held out his hands. He always had been able to tell when the fire inside her started to rise up. Eydyami had been forged to be a peacemaker, even if the elders didn’t see it in him yet.

Roman – 172 words – Only one word. He shouldn’t have gotten anything out of that. It certainly shouldn’t have made him want to reach out and smooth down this boy’s hair. He was a criminal, Roman reminded himself. Even if he hadn’t killed anybody this time, he still spent his life breaking the law. And if Roman’s suspicions were correct, taking advantage of a vulnerable girl. That bothered him more than anything else Carlos might be guilty of.

Dougal & Shae – 241 words – “And at least one person in that fight is armed, according to dispatch. You really want to just punch out with that going on? Thought you were a cop, not a pencil pusher.” *Oh, Shae, yeah I might see where your daughter(Caitie) ends up getting it from.

Listen: The Obsession(Nora Roberts) & A Torch Against the Night(Sabaa Tahir) – listened & loved both

Read: Finish The Invisible Entente(Krista Walsh), Landing the Air Marshal(Jennifer Blackwood), Turn My World Around(Kait Nolan), Superior(Jessica Lack), Shadowshaper(Daniel Jose Older), Jerkbait(Mia Siegert), Chase Me(Tessa Bailey), & Keeping Her Secret(Sarah Nicolas)– I finished The Invisible Entente(really enjoyed), Landing the Air Marshal(loved this one), Turn My World Around(loved!), Surperior(this was great and short!), Ended up setting Shadowshaper aside. Nothing “wrong” with it, just wasn’t being pulled in and no motivation to pick it back up, so I moved on. Really enjoyed Jerkbait, and Chase Me. Loved Keeping Her Secret. I’m about 1/4 through Out on Good Behavior(Dahlia Adler) and will probably finish it today. Then, reading Walking by Faith(A.M. Leibowitz) which I’ll have a post for on here next Friday.

Forgot to include this last week, but I’ve still been crocheting dish cloths this week. I’ve finished 3 different one. The Brick a Brack cloth, Grit Stitch Dish cloth, & Chrysanthemum Dish cloth

Basically all blue, other than that one book I set aside. Like I said, a pretty good week. Now, as for next week:

Read: Finish Out on Good Behavior(Dahlia Adler), Walking by Faith(A.M. Leibowitz), The Rule Book(Jennifer Blackwood), The Best Kind of Trouble(Lauren Dane), Into the Storm(Suzanne Brockman), Seduce Me at Sunrise(Lisa Kleypas), Devoted in Death(J.D. Robb), & Tall, Dark, and Deadly(Suzanne Brockman)

Welcome back for another visit with the Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop for anyone who likes to write. This week I have the next 10 sentences from where I left Hawk and Devil.

“No,” I said again, but my voice slipped a little. It felt like he was circling me, like his namesake getting ready to dive for the kill. My breath came a little faster, waiting for him to strike. “I don’t want this.”

He pulled back sharply, but I could see his feathers were ruffled. Like he’d heard “I don’t want you.” That wasn’t true. It never would be. But, I couldn’t have him.

“You don’t want to want this,” he corrected.

I’ll have one more snippet from this scene, next week. Then, on to the next scene. I’m getting closer to writing the end of this, then revising it before I start putting it up on Wattpad.

Today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt is to use in/out. One or the other or both somewhere in the post. The only project I haven’t worked on this week is Crash and Burn(previously only referred to as Brann’s story or Brann & Jaya). This comes right after last week’s piece I wrote. I tried continuing that scene yesterday, and couldn’t figure out how to pick it up. I think because that scene was over, and I just didn’t realize it. So, we’ll be switching into Jaya’s POV now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaya left her hand inBrann’s for a moment longer than necessary for a greeting. But, she didn’t want to let go. Ridiculous. She’d just met the man. She couldn’t really feel anything for him. But, he hadn’t take his eyes from hers yet.

“Care for a dance?” he asked.

She hesitated for a moment. She really wasn’t much of a dancer. She knew exactly what to do when she was inthe back of an ambulance, but inalmost any other situation, she wasn’t nearly as sure of herself. She couldn’t see the same being said of him. he looked perfectly at ease with himself. What would he say if she started tripping over her own feet out there?

She heard Caitie snicker from behind Brann and wondered what that was about. But, she found herself nodding. He pulled her outto the dance floor and brought one hand to her waist. He didn’t seem to want to release that hand, though. Maybe he felt the same way she did.

“I’ll apologize inadvance,” he said.

She was almost too drawn into that honey-smooth voice to process what he’d said. “Why would you apologize?”

The song changed, another slow, romantic tune at least, and they started to move with it. And only a few beats into the song, she felt a sharp pain inher toes. Brann winced. “That’s why,” he said. “Sorry about my big clumsy feet. I don’t always seem to know where I’m putting them.”

She laughed and put her arms over his shoulders. And here she was sure he’d be so sure of himself. “Then, why did you ask me to dance?”

“Because ever since I saw you earlier, I wanted to spend some time with you. But, I thought you were here with one of the firefighters.” one side of his mouth ticked up at that. “Mark and Caitie set me straight on that one. I figured when you were dancing with that kid, he was who you were with.”

“Austin?” she asked with a laugh. “He’s like my little brother. And anyway, I’d never truly get between him and Jess. No matter how many times she breaks his heart.”

Brann shifted and finally looked away from her. What was that all about. He glanced back at her. “Sorry. I don’t like discussing other peoples’ relationships. It can get sticky.”

He’d looked away again, and she followed his gaze. Over to the bar set up in the corner of the room. “Who’s that?” she asked.

“My baby brother and one of his bartenders. That’s all I’ll say about it.”

She looked up at him again and thought he might look worried. But, she didn’t understand that at all. She thought it might be one of those sticky things he didn’t like to discuss, though.

“You aren’t a firefighter, right?” she asked.

He let outa loud rolling laugh at that. “No,” he said, grinning down at her. “I’m not. Thank goodness for that. I heard I wouldn’t have a chance with you if that was the case.”

But, he wanted one? Beyond more than just this dance? She thought she could go for that.

It’s the final Friday in October. Only 3 days left until November starts. Which means NaNoWriMo starts in 3 days. Wheeeee! Granted, most months are pretty much NaNo months for me. In the 10 months of this year, I’ve written over 50k in 7 of them. The least of those was in April(59k). The most was June(96k). Both of those months, I was splitting my words between several projects.

I had been planning to only focusing on one project this year. It was going to be the next book in my Kurztown series, since I just finished the last one(Break on Me). But, looking at my spreadsheet for the year, my highest word counts came in months where I split my word counts between multiple projects. Most often working on several of them in one day. So, instead, I think that’s what I’ll do this year. I don’t do much writing over the weekend, so my 50000 words for the month will be spread across the weekdays. This will work out to about 2500 words a day(technically less, but I rounded up). If I work on all 5 projects I have going(not counting the side projects, which I won’t be doing), that’s 500 words on each a day. My goal lately has been 2000 words a day. An extra 500 shouldn’t be too hard to meet.

This month’s projects will be:

Defending the Heart(BC Security #3)

Three years ago, Piers would have given anything to be with Xavier. Now, they can barely be in the same room. Until they are forced to work together, and Piers remembers every reason he fell for him in the first place. Then, Xavier’s life is threatened, and Piers is determined to keep him safe. After all, Xavier might have broken his heart, but he also may be the only one who can make it whole again.

Crash and Burn(Flames 5.75)

Brann Magaldi doesn’t have a problem with the bachelor life he’s been leading, his work as a motorcycle cop keeps him satisfied. Until he meets Jaya Mertz at his sister’s wedding, and she turns his world on its side. He wants to spend more time with her, but when his own past starts to shadow him, he worries she’ll be in danger. He’ll do whatever he can to keep her safe, but will it be enough?

Not Meant to Be(Gilbert, Co #6)

Toby Pedera has always loved Denise McDermott, but he knows he’s never been good enough for her. One thing he doesn’t realize is that she’s always felt the same for him. Then, she’s threatened, and he’ll do anything to make sure she stays safe. But, can he when his own life may be in danger as well?

Stay a Little Longer(Kurztown #5)

Jessica Amadeo has made mistake after mistake, particularly when it comes to choosing men, and she’s raising the evidence of that on her own. Which she’s determined to put ahead of everything else so she can give them a good life. Then, Terrall Shreeve comes to town, and she can’t get him out of her head. But, Terrall’s got mistakes, big ones, of his own he’s trying to live with. She’s never been able to depend on a man before, but she’s not sure she can avoid making one more mistake.

In the Moonlight

When Yasmin Reisner inherits her great-aunt’s house, she doesn’t know what to do. Her father thinks she should sell and just take the money. But, that house holds a lot of history, and not just for her personally, and that interests her more than the money. So does Nola McCarthy, who comes with the house. Nola appears to hate her, though, until they have to come together to stand against another man who wants the house and won’t take no for an answer and get to the bottom of the ghost stories surrounding the house.

In the Moonlight is more than halfway finished(at least according to my predicted word count), but the others are all just barely started. I don’t think I’ll finish any of them this month, but I’ll certainly be making progress.

I’m nearing the end of drafting Break on Me. I’m pretty sure I’ll be there by the end of the week. Maybe even tomorrow(probably not). Good timing since I’ll be starting the next book in the series, Stay a Little Longer, on Tuesday for NaNoWriMo. I’m almost finished with the plotting of it. So, I shouldn’t have any trouble being ready to jump in on it on Tuesday.

We had to take the pup in to the vet this morning. He’s been scratching at this one spot on his neck, and it’s gotten so bad it was bleeding. Turns out he’s got a bacterial infection there now. So, an allergy shot, bottle of antibiotics, new flea pill and $100 later, we’re back home. Hopefully this will clear it up.

Now, onto WiPPet Wednesday. This will probably be the last snippet I share from Break on Me. At least for now. Today I have 7 paragraphs(1+0+2+6+1+6=16=1+6=7)

He swallowed hard. “I got it the morning of the funeral. I couldn’t bring myself to open it. I still haven’t.”

Something in her eyes softened then. “He apologized to me. Said he wished he’d been a better brother. That he should be the one taking care of me instead of the other way around. I hadn’t gotten the call from the police yet. I wanted to tell him that he was an idiot. I couldn’t have had a better brother, and I didn’t need anyone to take care of me.”

She looked right into his eyes then, and he felt a little sick. Even as she turned him on. “I don’t need someone who wants to take care of me, Gabe. I need someone who loves me, who wants me just as I am. So, if that’s what this is, some kind of twisted favor to my brother-”

“No,” Gabriel said on a rushed breath. “That’s why I tried to fight it. He wouldn’t have wanted this.”

That had apparently been the wrong thing to say as well. “Why should my brother have anything to do with why we are or aren’t together?” she demanded. “Even if he was still alive, he wouldn’t have any say in it.”

“He just wanted to make sure no one ever hurt you. He certainly wouldn’t want me to be the one to do it. And really, Lora, what the hell can I give you? My broken mind, my broken body. Which of those things appeals to you so much?”

She shoved against his shoulder than scrambled from the bed. “I don’t see either of those things as broken, you idiot. And it was your heart, dumbass. Your completely whole heart that appeals to me. But, I don’t need someone who wants to take care of me. I had a big brother, I don’t need the man I love to be a stand in one.”

They’ve both got to be a little stubborn, of course. You can read the other WiPPeteers here.

As for my progress so far this week:

Write: 14000 words – 7098/14000 words. Mostly on Break on Me.

Break on Me – 6037 words – Gabriel had barely wanted to let go of Lora’s hand the whole time they’d eaten at the diner. He’d heard talk around them but had ignored all of it. Especially the people who whispered about him making out with Erik the day before. it had been one kiss, on the cheek. God, people in this town could be ridiculous.

In the Moonlight – 1061 words – I hated that had her pulling away. But, what was I supposed to do about it? This was something I’d been taught to be ashamed of. I couldn’t change that overnight. Not even for her.

Edit: Guarding the Heart – Work through revisions– making progress on this. About halfway through now.

Plot: Stay a Little Longer – Finish Story Toolkit, start plot summary if I have time– Almost finished working through the toolkit.

Side Projects – write 1500 words between them– nothing yet

Listen: The Obsession(Nora Roberts) & A Torch Against the Night(Sabaa Tahir*which I won’t actually have until Tuesday when I get my next credit) – finished The Obsession(really enjoyed it), Almost 7 hours into A Torch Against the Night already.

Read: Finish The Invisible Entente(Krista Walsh), Landing the Air Marshal(Jennifer Blackwood), Turn My World Around(Kait Nolan), Superior(Jessica Lack),Shadowshaper(Daniel Jose Older), Jerkbait(Mia Siegert), Chase Me(Tessa Bailey), & Keeping Her Secret(Sarah Nicolas)– I finished The Invisible Entente(really enjoyed), Landing the Air Marshal(loved this one), Turn My World Around(loved!), Surperior(this was great and short!), and am 13% into Shadowshaper. It’s not really pulling me in, so I don’t know if I’ll keep at it or not.

I have another teaser from Healing the Heart for you this week. It’s still off with my beta reader, but if anyone else is interested in reading and giving feedback, let me know & I can send it out. I’m still planning on having it out by the end of the year hopefully.

“You said you found it like this?” the detective questioned.

Jared cleared his throat. “Yeah. One of my patients came back in and said he saw it out here.”

“No one saw anything?”

He sounded almost like he couldn’t believe that. Jared pushed down his irritation. “I told you no one said anything to me. That doesn’t mean they didn’t see it, but they likely would have told me if they did.”

“Unless they saw you.”

“Seriously?” he asked, disgusted. “That’s where you’re going with this? I have done nothing but help this neighborhood since I started here. I want a good, safe place for the people who live here. Why would I do this in my own place? I know the doctor who drives this car. She works for me here. She’s an old friend of mine. Why would I do something like this?”

“That’s a good question to ask, doctor,” the detective said, a sneer on his face. “Why have you ever destroyed property or caused havoc in the streets? You know, I’ve been a cop longer than you’ve been a doctor. I know what you are, DoctorMcDermott.”

Jared cursed in his head. He didn’t think this guy had ever arrested him. Sure, he’d gotten into trouble with the cops. He hadn’t been one to deface property. He’d never killed anyone. He’d fought, and he’d stolen. It had all been to protect Denise. He didn’t have to do that anymore. “You say that like I’m not a real doctor. Yes, I come from these streets, and I did what I had to in order to survive and help my sister. I’ve done a lot of good since then. I told you what I know about this,” he said with a wave at the car. “Now, it’s your job to figure out what happened.”

The man lifted one shoulder. “Probably some punk gangbanger doing it for kicks. You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Doctor?”

Definitely a good week. This weekend hasn’t been too bad either. We’re having some friends over for lunch today(chili) and for the kids to carve pumpkins(even though our kids carved some with grandma yesterday) and play together for a while. And then tomorrow it will be back to routine.

My lazy puppy has his priorities straight on a cold, rainy morning

Write 14000 words– 15163/14000 words. Definitely a win here.

Break on Me – 10381 words – Gabriel opened his mouth, as if to say something, but he closed it again. He was worried, she could see that. But, he wasn’t stepping in. He’d come over when he thought she was in danger, but now he was letting her handle things. Her chest suddenly felt too tight. Aaron already would have been between her and the danger.

In the Moonlight – 1061 words – Mom wasn’t here. And Yasmin was right. I needed to stop making my decisions based on what she would think. She wasn’t here, and I was a grown woman now. I didn’t need her approval.

Defending the Heart – 1085 words – The sharp tone in Piers’ voice sent a spear of pain right through Xavier’s heart. He didn’t care how melodramatic that thought seemed. It was what he felt in the moment. “I’m moving into the apartment upstairs,” he said through the gnawing ache in his chest.

Toby & Denise – 1051 words – She gave a shake of her head, but he was already turning away, his brother with him. Jonas gave her a little shrug and roll of his eyes. Like he didn’t have any clue what had gotten into his brother either. Her shoulders felt a little heavier as she continued on to the table.

Brann & Jaya – 1585 words – “I think your plan worked,” she said, nodding over his shoulder. Jessica was heading their way. She brushed a kiss over his cheek. “Maybe guard your heart this time.”
He sent her a smile that looked just a touch sad. “What would be the fun in that?” he asked. *Oh, poor Austin. Him and Jess will eventually figure it out(their story is up next). I also wrote more for this for my SOCS post this week

Edit: Guarding the Heart Read through– finished this on Friday. Have over 300 notes on it. A lot of them are little things, so that hopefully isn’t as bad as it looks.

He loves sitting with her for reading time at night.

Plot: Jess & Terrall – Story Tookit: through Act 2 Beat sheet– got through this one. Hoping to finish the tool kit this week. Then, I’ll do the plot summary and get it all set up in Scrivener so I can start writing on Nov 1. Also have at least a tentative title: Stay a Little Longer

Dance with the Devil – 532 words – At least that’s what I kept telling myself. That this hollow feeling inside me didn’t have anything to do with Hawk. That I didn’t miss him every day he wasn’t at my side. And whose fault was that anyway?Mine. It was all mine. I’d pushed him away again and again. Why would I think he’d choose to stick around? He wasn’t some toy I could keep on a string, just pulling him back when it suited me. He deserved so much more than that.

Snow White Twist – 555 words – “I’ll have something special when you return,” she said, sounding a little breathless after that kiss. Tarian grinned at her. “Even more reason to return quickly.” Then, she turned and headed out the door. Hopefully she’d be able to take care of this quickly and return to the girl she was pretty sure she loved.

Patrick & Sarah – 148 words – She was just trying to survive in a world without the man she’d loved. And make sure her boys thrived. What was so wrong with that?

Tavin & Haiwee – 150 words – Her brother stepped forward and held his hand up. “We mean no harm,” he said, then he glanced at her. “Haiwee, who is this man?” he asked in their language.

Roman – 184 words – The man…kid, really…walking in front of the big, burly guard wasn’t what Roman had expected. Carlos might be nineteen, but he looked like a lost little boy right now.

Dougal & Shae – 182 words – The taller of the two men in front of him sighed. “And here I thought we were off duty.” *Little does Dougal know, he’s just met Shae’s brothers. This could get interesting.

Listen: Minutes to Kill(Melinda Leigh) – finished this and really enjoyed it. Started to listen to Crooked Kingdom(even though I’ve already read it), then The Obsession(Nora Roberts) was the daily deal for audible on Friday, so I grabbed that and have been listening to it since.

The boy decided to add a third eye to his pumpkin

Read: Finish Signal Boost(Alyssa Cole), Falling into Bed with a Duke(Lorraine Heath), 37 Things I Love(Kekla Magoon), The Shadow Queen(CJ Redwine), Fake ID(Lamar Giles), Rock Addiction(Nalini Singh), Frost Station Alpha(Ruby Lionsdrake),The Invisible Entente(Krista Walsh) – I finished Signal Boost(really enjoyed it), Falling into Bed with a Duke(enjoyed this one too), 37 Things I Love(liked this one), The Shadow Queen(really, really enjoyed this), Fake ID(enjoyed), Rock Addiction(Ah, had some issues with this one. A lot with the hero not taking no, or pushing when she asked him to go. There was a lot of sex(which doesn’t bother me) and while the scenes were hot, it felt like they were all the same. There were 2 parts, and honestly the second part felt kind of boring, no real conflict). I added the novella and the next novel to my to buy list, so we’ll see if I feel the same after them or not). Finished Frost Station Alpha last night(really enjoyed this one, too), and I’m about 30% through The Invisible Entente. I should be finishing it later today.

Knit/Crochet – dish cloths. As I said Wednesday, the pup has taken to digging these out of the laundry and chewing them up, so I need to make more. – I finished one of these, but didn’t have a lot of cotton yarn left in any one color. Yesterday, I bought some more yarn, so I’ll be making some more.(we even bought a new laundry bag to replace the one the pup chew a big hole through)

Almost all blue! Like I said, a good week.

And the inspiration for the title of Jess & Terrall’s book:

And now for goals for next week:

Write: 14000 words

Edit: Guarding the Heart – Work through revisions

Plot: Stay a Little Longer – Finish Story Toolkit, start plot summary if I have time

Side Projects – write 1500 words between them

Listen: The Obsession(Nora Roberts) & A Torch Against the Night(Sabaa Tahir*which I won’t actually have until Tuesday when I get my next credit)